The renowned seer, Chardrashekhara Swami of Vishwa Vokkaligara Mahasamsthana Mutt has voiced his desire to CM Siddaramaihah, asking him to step down and hand over the chief ministerial position to DK Shivakumar.
According to media reports the demand was made in the presence of both CM Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar during a public event held marking the 515th birth anniversary of Bengaluru founder Kempe Gowda.
In his address, Chandrashekhara Swami stated, “It is possible only if Siddaramaiah makes up his mind.”
The pitch vying for Shivakumar came amidst a growing demand within the Siddaramaiah cabinet to have three more Deputy Chief Ministers from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat, the SC-ST, and the minority communities.
The seer also added that he requested Siddharamaiah to appoint DK Shivakumar as Chief Minister of the state, and that there have been people who have held the chief ministerial position but Shivakumar has’t served in the position even once. The seer called on Siddaramaiah and said that he has the power to take the decision.
Similar remarks were made by Congress MLA Channagiri Basavraju V Shivaganga, who said that he had urged the party to make Shivakumar the chief minister, adding, “and then they can make a dozen people deputy CMs; there won’t be any objections”
Reacting to the demands, DK Shivakumar shifted the responsibility to Congress and said “Congress is a high command party… this is a democracy. We will follow whatever the high command says.”
DK Shivakumar too reacted and said, “Things have been said… We both (him and Siddaramaiah) are travelling to Delhi to discuss with MPs from the state about the state’s projects (pending approval from the Centre).”
Both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar have been in a stiff competition for Chief Minister’s post after the assembly elections results in May last year. However, the Congress has tried to keep the water under its neck by convincing Shivakumar to take the position of Deputy Chief Minister.
While Mr Shivakumar has made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, to strengthen his position, sought public support during the Lok Sabha polls so that the Congress would win the maximum number of seats in the state.
A section within the Congress believes that ministers seeking three more Deputy Chief Ministers was part of a plan by Siddaramaiah’s camp to keep DK Shivakumar in check amid talks he might seek the Chief Minister’s post after two-and-half years of this government’s tenure. It was also done to counter DK Shivakumar’s influence both in the government and party.
Comments